Ways to Create Your Own Christmas Traditions This Year

Looking for ways to make the festive season your own? Here’s how to create new traditions with the ones you love most.

There’s magic in the nostalgia and tradition of Christmas, but who said we need to play by the same rules every year? Nowadays, more of us are giving the season a personal touch, making new festive memories in ways that honour what’s most meaningful to us.

There’s something appealing about a festive tradition that feels completely your own, whether that means a yearly Christmas Eve date, a friends-only gift exchange or a little solo outing that signals the season has begun. It’s time to set your Christmases up for the best festive memories yet, and you’ll find all the inspiration you need right here on Regent Street.

For couples

• A cosy cuppa, Christmassy treats and some bubbles to wash it down with? The Langham’s festive Winter Garden Afternoon Tea ticks all the boxes for quality time with someone special ahead of the celebrations.

• Into the arts? Make it your mission to visit a gallery like Rhodes Contemporary Art and peruse the latest seasonal works. Hint - nearby St James’s is brimming with options if you fancy making a day of it!

• After a long year, you both deserve a festive treat. Head to Carpo and pick out something from their selection of seasonal chocolate, nuts, dried fruits, ice cream and more - then take a wander around Central London as you nibble.

• Wildcard: How about bucking tradition altogether and whisking your other half off for a festive curry at Veeraswamy?

For families

• Hamleys brings the magic to Regent Street all year round, but the festive season is when it truly comes alive. Make it an annual outing and take the family to see the spectacular displays and pick out a toy or two.

• There’s no family Christmas tradition quite like settling down for a good festive film, and as the home of British cinema, where better to do so than Regent Street Cinema itself?

• A wander down Regent Street at Christmastime makes for the best kind of window shopping. Big or small, the whole family will love the dazzling displays adorning storefronts like Liberty London, Burberry, Hotel Café Royal and more.

• Wildcard: Not a typical hotspot for families at Christmas, Fanatics is an underrated pick for festive shenanigans. Create a tradition by choosing a genre of collectibles and returning each year to add to your family collection. A unique way to unite and delight!

For friends

• Need a cosy meeting point for a pre-Christmas get-together? The Nest at the Treehouse Hotel is somewhere you’ll all love.

• For a fun activity to repeat year after year, you can’t beat some friendly festive competition at Clay’s. Now who’s keeping score?

• That Christmas coffee date you’re planning? Make sampling the seasonal selection at Compane your yearly go-to.

• Wildcard: Head to Anthropologie and host a real-life Secret Santa, giving each person a small budget, someone to buy for and a set amount of time to pick something out from the wide selection of festive titbits and stocking fillers.

For yourself

• If you need a little break from the world to rejuvenate, try a bio-hacking treatment at Biogena so you can step into every season feeling like your best self.

• Sometimes it’s the small habits that feel the most indulgent. Stop by Hotel Chocolat and pick yourself out a chocolatey Christmas treat, you’ve earned it.

• If you’d prefer to treat yourself to something that lasts, look after number one and pop one of Earl of East’s wellness and beauty products into your stocking.

• Wildcard: Everyone knows self care season starts in January, but what if you showed yourself some love before the festivities begin? A pilates class at Aligné is ideal for shaking off the year’s cobwebs before the Christmas break.

Christmas feels extra special in London. Discover the very best of this season’s shopping, dining, events and more on Regent Street.